Exercise Performance Monitoring Glove

ABSTRACT

The exercise performance monitoring glove consists of a pair of flexible gloves that have embedded pressure sensor arrays to measure hand pressure applied to them during physical activities such as exercise. Each glove sends its pressure data in a real-time format using an embedded wireless RF transmitter to the opposite glove. The gloves then compare the pressures and provide feedback through a user selectable choice of either audio, visual or vibratory methods. Audio feedback is provided to earbuds using typical connection means such as Bluetooth connection to a smartphone or remote device having an exercise performance monitoring app. Visual feedback is provided in several possible modes such as text, color, and graphics using an embedded wraparound flexible display screen. Vibratory feedback is provided using embedded vibration devices inside the gloves. Once a specific feedback mode is selected using the performance monitoring app, the user will know whether the gloves are in a balanced or unbalanced state. Using this real-time feedback allows the user to make corrections in the hand grip forces to achieve a balanced state. The gloves can be used in a wide variety of situations such as exercise, sports, and for medical rehabilitation where body balance is important.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

U.S. Pat. No. 10,420,387 “Exercise Performance Monitoring Apparatus” issued to Zambriski et al. on Sep. 24, 2019

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

THE NAMES OF THE PARTIES TO A JOINT RESEARCH AGREEMENT

Not Applicable

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF MATERIAL SUBMITTED ON A COMPACT DISC OR AS A TEXT FILE VIA THE OFFICE ELECTRONIC FILING SYSTEM

Not Applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING PRIOR DISCLOSURES BY THE INVENTOR OR A JOINT INVENTOR

Not Applicable

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of wearable exercise performance monitoring equipment and more particularly to wearable gloves that have embedded sensors to monitor performance during exercise, sports, and for medical rehabilitation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There currently are a few gloves sold today that have embedded pressure sensors for measuring the pressure distribution. However, the products on the market today seem to only be dedicated to a specific sport. For example, a product called the SensoGlove is a leather golf glove that has four sensors and a mounted computer that provides audio and visual feedback on the grip pressure during a golf swing. A more sophisticated glove for use by engineers having sixty-five pressure sensors called the TactileGlove allows for computer display of the pressure distribution. Unlike the SensoGlove, the TactileGlove can be used for various activities such as manufacturing engineering studies of workers and to help design of tools for workers. However, it is not intended to be used for sports fitness performance monitoring as it is not only very expensive given the large number of pressure sensors, but also requires the use of a computer to display the pressure data.

U.S. Pat. No. 10,420,387 issued to Zambriski et al discloses a combination of gloves and shoes with embedded sensors that provide visual color based feedback directly on the gloves using LED displays mounted on the gloves only.

Clearly, there is a need for a performance monitoring glove that is affordable and can be used for exercise, sports, and for medical rehabilitation. The glove to be disclosed here will also include a wireless rechargeable battery and will be able to display the results in multiple modes including vibration, audio and visual methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a glove that has an array of wired pressure sensors to measure pressure at discrete points on the fingers and palm.

It is secondary object of the present invention to provide a glove that provides a means of wireless recharging of the gloves.

It is a third object of the present invention to provide a glove that has a single main control module for processing pressure data, performing wireless (Bluetooth) communications with the opposite hand glove and smartphone as well as control of secondary devices to provide real-time performance monitoring feedback to the user.

It is a fourth object of the present invention to provide a glove that has embedded vibration pads to provide performance feedback using vibrations sent into the hand.

It is a fifth object of the present invention to provide a glove that has an embedded flexible LED/OLED display screen to provide performance feedback using visual methods.

It is a final object of the present invention to provide a glove that provides auditory performance feedback using earbuds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the exercise performance monitoring glove shown with the palm side facing up;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the exercise performance monitoring glove shown with the palm side facing down;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the main control module.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart of the glove pressure monitoring smartphone app; and

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of the glove pressure performance monitoring process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to the drawings and in particular FIGS. 1 & 2, the performance monitoring glove of the present invention is designated by reference numeral 100. Although only the left hand glove is shown, the right hand glove would have the same components arranged in the same locations except in a symmetric arrangement. Said glove 100 contains a plurality of pressure sensing elements 10 that are located at desirable locations on the hand where pressure is exerted during exercise such as near the finger tips, along the base of the fingers and along the bottom of the palm. The pressure sensing elements can be made from typical compact discrete pressure transducers such as piezoresistive or capacitive pressure sensors. Each pressure sensing element 10 converts the pressure applied to it to an electrical signal which is transmitted via wires 30 to a main control module pressure measurement and data transmission module 20. The pressure sensor wiring 30 wraps around the glove and continues on the top (non palm) face of the glove to connect to the main control module 90 (shown in FIG. 2). The glove fabric 40 is preferably made from materials that are both lightweight as well as breathable. Examples of fabrics to be used in the preferred embodiment include polyester/nylon woven blends and polyester/cotton woven blends. A thumb OLED/LED flexible display 50 is located at the distal end of the thumb on the palm side so the user can see a visual performance feedback at that location when the user is exercising in a position such that their palm side is facing them.

A wireless (Qi style) charger pad 75 is located at the wrist end of the glove and allows for Qi wireless recharging of the main control module 90 when the glove is placed over a wireless Qi charger accessory such as are used for smartphones. Wiring 77 connects the wireless Qi charger pad 75 to main control module 90.

A flexible LED/OLED display 70 wraps completely around the glove so it can be visible at any angle. Although the display is shown at the wrist end of the glove in the preferred embodiment, it may be embedded at other areas of the glove. This display provides a secondary method of providing performance feedback via visual means such as emojis, graphics or text.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the performance monitoring glove 100 of the present invention is shown with the palm side of the glove facing down. Flexible display 70 is connected to the main control module 90 using wiring 80. A plurality of vibration pads 95 are also connected to the main control module 90 via wiring 97 and provide vibrations to the hand as another method of performance feedback. Although shown at the wrist end of the gloves, said vibration pads 95 may also be located at other locations.

Referring next to FIG. 3, the main control module 90 shall be explained. An array of pressure sensors 10 are embedded in the glove fabric 40 and connect to a central processor 21 via wiring 30. The central processor uses an algorithm to compare pressures from both the left and right gloves. Pressure data from the each glove is sent to the main control module 90 of the opposite hand glove using a wireless comm module 24 with antenna 25. Once the algorithm performs a pressure balance determination, feedback data is sent to the main control module 90 via the wireless communications module 24 and antenna 25. Pressure data between calculations is stored in memory 22 so that the processor is able to perform calculations of pressure comparison in a real-time manner throughout the exercise session. A rechargeable battery 23 powers the module and can be recharged via the wireless recharger pad 75 via connecting power wiring 77.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the main control module 90 allows for a single module to be embedded safely on the non-palm side of the glove to avoid damage during exercise. The pressure performance feedback is made available to the user through either one of three separate modes—visual, auditory or vibrational feedback. The main control module 90 includes the following additional components: (1) a graphics display module 91, (2) a vibration signal control module 93, and (3) an audio control module 99.

If the user selects the graphical feedback mode then pressure data is received through the wireless comms module 24 and sent for conversion to graphical feedback using both the graphics display module 91 and memory 22. The graphical feedback output (such as video, pictures, images or text) is then sent to the LED/OLED flexible display screen 70 via wiring 80. If the user selects the vibrational feedback mode then pressure data is received through the wireless comms module 24 and sent for conversion to vibrational feedback using the vibration signal control module 93. The vibrational feedback output (such as pulses of varying intensity and frequency) is then sent to the vibration pads 95 via wiring 97. Finally, if the user selects the audio feedback mode then pressure data is received through the wireless comms module 24 and sent for conversion to audio feedback using the audio control module 99. The audio feedback output (such as musical tones or human voice delivered information) is then sent to a smartphone having the glove pressure monitoring application 110 using the wireless communications module 24 and antenna 25. The smartphone pressure monitoring application 110 then controls the audio feedback output to the user via earbuds.

Referring next to FIG. 4, the glove pressure monitoring smart phone application 110 shall be further explained. The smartphone application allows the user to first select which feedback mode he wants. Three options are presented, specifically audio, video, or vibrational feedback. If the user selects audio mode then further options are presented for selection specifically voice feedback or audio tone. The smartphone application then wirelessly communicates to the main control module 90 to allow audio feedback during exercise. If the user selects video mode then further options are presented for selection specifically color display, text based feedback or graphical images. The smartphone application then wirelessly communicates to the main control module 90 to allow video feedback during exercise. If the user selects vibrational mode then three further options are presented: (1) vibrational intensity, (2) vibrational frequency, and (3) duration of vibrations. The smartphone application then wirelessly communicates to the main control module 90 to allow vibrational feedback during exercise.

Referring finally to FIG. 5, the glove pressure performance monitoring process 120 used in the present invention shall be further explained. During exercising the user wears a pair of pressure performance monitoring gloves 100. Both gloves have an array of embedded pressure sensors 10, and each sensor sends signals to the main control module 90 located on each glove. The wireless communications module 24 then sends the pressure data from the opposite glove wirelessly. Once the main control modules 90 receive the data from the opposite glove, a pressure balance state is determined using an algorithm. The pressure balance state is then communicated back to the main control module 90. Depending on which feedback method has been selected (audio, video, or vibrational), the specific assigned feedback module within the Main control module 90 (audio—99, video—91, vibrational—93) then provides feedback to the user using either the vibrational pads 95 or the LED/OLED flexible display 70 or through earbuds that communicate with a smartphone having the smartphone glove pressure performance monitoring application 110. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A pair of exercise performance monitoring gloves for use in exercise performance monitoring, each glove comprising: a glove housing; said glove housing to be shaped to provide a means for removable attachment to a hand; said glove housing to provide a means for attachment of other components; said glove housing to be constructed of a lightweight material; a plurality of pressure sensing elements; said pressure sensing elements being embedded into said glove housing in a plurality of locations; said locations for attachment of said pressure sensing elements to include a plurality of embedded locations; a plurality of electrically conductive wire segments; said wire segments each being connected to said pressure sensing elements at one distal end; said wire segments being of sufficient length to connect to a main control module; a main control module; said main control module comprising: a housing; said housing being of sufficient size to contain a plurality of other electrical components; a digital processing chip; said chip having the ability to convert electrical voltage signals sent from said pressure sensing elements into digital pressure data; said chip having firmware; said firmware to provide the means of running performance monitoring algorithms to determine a state of overall pressure balance between said left and right glove; a memory chip; said memory chip to provide a means of storage of digital pressure data sent from said digital processing chip; a graphics processing chip; said chip to provide a means for providing pressure monitoring feedback to a flexible display screen; a wireless communications module; said module to provide a means for transmission of wireless pressure monitoring data between said gloves; said module to provide a means for communication with an external device; a vibration control chip; said chip to provide a means for transmission of pressure monitoring feedback to an embedded vibration device on said gloves; a battery; said battery having the capability to be recharged by an external charging device; an audio processing chip; said chip to provide a means for providing pressure performance monitoring feedback in the form of audible signals to be sent to said communications module; an antenna; said antenna to be mounted to said wireless communications module; said antenna to provide a means to send and receive wireless data between said gloves and an external device; a wiring terminal; said terminal to provide a means of electrical connection between said pressure sensing element wire segments and said digital processing chips; said terminal to be embedded into said housing; a flexible display screen; said flexible display screen to be made of a thin material; said flexible display screen to provide a means for displaying performance monitoring feedback in the form of text, graphical or video content; said flexible display screen to include a connection wire between said flexible display screen and said graphics processing chip; a plurality of vibration devices; said vibration devices to be embedded into said gloves; said vibration devices to provide a means of sending out vibrations to provide pressure monitoring feedback; and a recharging device; said recharging device to be embedded into said gloves; said recharging device to include a pair of connection wires between said recharging device and said rechargeable battery.
 2. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein the method of exercise performance monitoring uses an external device having a monitoring application, said application having an algorithm; said algorithm to provide a means of selection from a plurality of performance monitoring feedback options; said performance monitoring feedback options to include audio feedback, graphical feedback, vibration feedback and an external device for monitoring of performance; said algorithm to store user preferences and exercise session data on said memory chip.
 3. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein said communications module uses radio frequency (RF) energy as the method of communication.
 4. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein a pair of enabled earbud devices are used to provide a means of providing audio performance monitoring feedback.
 5. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein an enabled speaker device is used to provide a means of providing audio performance monitoring feedback.
 6. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 2, wherein an external device is used to provide a means for providing a performance monitoring feedback.
 7. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein the methods of visual feedback modes may include a combination of graphics, videos, or textual information.
 8. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein said battery recharging device uses wireless charging as the means for recharging said rechargeable battery.
 9. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein said battery recharging device uses wired charging as the means for recharging said rechargeable battery.
 10. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein the process of pressure performance monitoring further comprises: a first step where both left and right gloves measure the pressure within a predetermined time interval using output from said pressure sensing elements in both left and right gloves; a second step where the data captured in the first step is sent and processed by the main control module for both left and right gloves; a third step where a pressure balance state is determined in said main control module in each glove using an algorithm; a fourth step where pressure balance feedback is provided to the user using a combination of one or more of said feedback methods; and a fifth step where said pressure performance data is sent to said external device to provide a means of exercise performance monitoring during an exercise session.
 11. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein said gloves are used to assist in patient rehabilitation.
 12. The exercise performance monitoring gloves of claim 1, wherein said gloves are used to perform sports performance monitoring, as well as other physical activities. 